Online Court Case Management System; Feasibility Study
BY
Asif Khan
Reg No. 55-FMS/EMBA/F19
A Project Report Submitted to Department of Management Sciences
International Islamic University Islamabad for the fulfillment of the requirement for
degree of
EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT OF
MANAGEMENT
FACULTY
OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD
2022
Online Court Case Management System; Feasibility Study
BY
Asif Khan
55-FMS/EMBA/F19
EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION (MANAGEMENT)
Submitted to
Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Associate Professor (FMS)
Department of Accounting and
Finance
Faculty of Management Sciences
International Islamic University Islamabad
Copyright 2022 by Asif Khan
All right reserved. No part of this project report can be reproduced in any form
Or any means such as photocopy or soft copy etc. without prior approval of The
author.
Supervisor certificate
This is certified that Mr. Asif Khan 55-FMS/EMBA/F19 has completed his project report entitled as “Online
Court Case Management System; Feasibility Study” under my supervision. I have checked this report and
found it to be a bona fide work of the author.
Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Associate professor (FMS- IIUI)
Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Dept. of Accounting and Finance
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Before starting, I thank Allah Almighty for the elegance of achieving this project report on time.
I am very thankful to my great education instructor Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah to my heart. He cares,
gives me a proper guideline, beneficial regulation, advises me about every correction, moreover,
motivates me during the making of this thesis.
There is also another relation that is very special for me and without their support I can’t do
anything and these are my parents, my supporters and love in my life. Moreover, I am also thankful
to my friends and my well-wishers that support me in every obstacle that I face in this thesis. This
practice was very pleasing for me also for my coming professional scheduling. This effort gives
me courage to complete more challenges and chances for my coming professional life.
After working on this project, I feel myself motivated for my future life and also it prepares me to
do further creativities and large missions, and I hope that this report will be very acceptable.
Executive Summary
This report provides comprehensive information on the feasibility of the court case scheduling
system developed by DillySolutions private limited.
In the introduction section of this report, details on the structure, strength and working of the
judicial court is discussed. Furthermore, information on the court funding and financial matters
of judicial courts are provided. Analysis of problems which the general public faces when they
have to seek judicial forum for justice.
Moreover academic and practical significance of proposed court management systems are
discussed along with benefits which stakeholders will utilise by use of online court case
management systems.
Second section of this report, literature review, provides in-depth information on the existing
court case management systems from around the world. Comparison of various court
management systems is performed to help determine the benefits of technology within the
domain of the judicial system.
Third section of the report, research methodology, results of two different research
methodologies are provided. Collective responses of an online survey are shared to determine the
feasibility of the court case management system within the Pakistani judicial system. In addition
to an online survey, Projected income, cash flow and balance sheets are developed to help in
making informed decisions.
Based on the findings of research methodologies in the previous section, the fourth section of
this report discusses the feasibility of this report considering project cost and other factors.
Furthermore, estimates of return on investment figures and expected timelines of this project are
discussed in detail. Final conclusion is drawn based on the information provided in this report.
Contents
Introduction
Background
2
2
Court Structure
2
Court Case Scheduling Process
3
Court Funding
4
Problem Statement
4
Objectives
5
Significance
6
General Significance
6
Academic Significance
6
Practical Significance
7
Literature Review:
7
Training and Support
13
Risks and challenges
13
Research Methodology:
14
Online Questionnaire
14
Financial Plan
18
Sales Projection:
18
Estimated Operating Expenses:
19
Pro Forma Income Statement:
19
Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement:
20
Balance Sheet
21
Assumptions
21
Result And Discussion
22
Online Questionnaire
22
Financial Plan
22
Conclusion:
23
Bibliography
24
Appendix
26
Introduction
This document is prepared as a requirement for the EMBA project course. This document is
written to determine the feasibility of an online court‘s case management system for judicial
courts. This section of the report provides background information on the judicial courts in
Pakistan, challenges within judicial processes and how to use technology to overcome these
challenges. Furthermore, literature review of the judicial system in other countries is provided to
analyze benefits of technology integration in judicial courts.
Background
This section is further subdivided into two sub-sessions to provide information on the court
structure and processing of court cases in Pakistani judicial courts.
Court Structure
Pakistan being a Federal Republic, the provinces enjoy wide powers, and subjects to administer
including the administration of justice. The High Court is the principal court of the province,
which exercises original jurisdiction (issuing writ for enforcement of Fundamental Rights) and
appellate jurisdiction (against orders/judgments of Subordinate Courts and special courts). The
Subordinate Courts function under the administrative control of the High Court. The Provincial
Governments provide funds to all courts.
There are 36 districts in the province of Punjab, 29 districts in Sindh, 34 districts in KPK, 34
districts in Balochistan and 10 districts in Azad Kashmir territory (Wikipedia, 2021). District
courts in all provinces of Pakistan are operating at a maximum capacity and face many
challenges in processing these court cases in the absence of an electronic case processing system.
The organogram of judicial courts in Pakistan is shown in (Appendix 2.1).
Provincial governments fund district courts and other special courts such as banking,
accountability, sharia and anti-narcotics courts. Judges of these courts and their terms and
conditions are regulated under the provincial rules. The High Court, however, exercises
administrative control over such courts.
The sanctioned strength of judges of the superior, subordinate and administrative court is given
below.
Superior Courts:
Court
Supreme
Court Of
Pakistan
Lahore
High
Court
Sindh
High
Court
Peshawar
High
Court
Balochistan
High Court
Federal
Shariat
Court
Islamaba
d High
Court
Strength
CJ + 16
CJ + 59
CJ + 39
CJ + 19
CJ + 10
CJ + 7
CJ +6
Subordinate Courts:
Court
Punjab
Dist. & Session Judge
Addl. Dist. & Session Judge
Senior Civil Judge &
Civil Judges-cum-Judicial
Magistrates
37 (+84 ex cadre)
607
1722
Sind
h
27
115
362
Balochistan
30
32
204
(Member Majis-eShura)
16
(Qazi)
KP
K
25
103
322
ICT
2
30
56
Total
2450
504
30
312
450
88
The table below shows the strength of administrative staff for superior courts.
Court
Staff
Supreme
Court Of
Pakistan
746
Lahore
High
Court
2070
Sindh
High
Court
1307
Peshawar
High
Court
Balochistan
High Court
637
498
Federal
Shariat
Court
250
Islamaba
d High
Court
387
Court Case Scheduling Process
The process of court case scheduling for higher judiciary and lower judiciary is different due to
two main reasons mentioned here. First of all, higher judiciary uses an online system to schedule
court cases whereas subordinates mostly depend on manual processes to schedule court cases.
Secondly, the higher judiciary only provides a cause list of cases, which are scheduled to be
heard in a week's time. Due to the higher number of court cases there is a backlog of cases and
cases are heard on the principle of queue structure (first come first serve). Whereas subordinate
courts are trial courts and once proceedings of any case are started, they are given the next case
hearing date at the end of every case proceeding.
Some subordinate courts upload handwritten court case cause lists which are available for
download. However, uploaded cause lists are available for specific dates and not all court cases
with their hearing dates could not be viewed. Manual update of court case scheduling data is
prone to mistakes and leads to delays in case proceedings.
There is no electronic or online record of case scheduling data at the subordinate courts,
therefore, some lawyers exploit this situation by skipping proceedings of some cases where
intention is to cause delay. Since court judges do not have instant access to the schedule of any
lawyers and are unable to see how many times a lawyer skipped case hearing, they conveniently
allow lawyers to skip case hearing. Furthermore, there is no system in place to create an audit
check or threshold on skipping of case proceedings by legal counsel without any sound reason.
In Islamabad district court, the situation is worse to an alarming level. Court staff manually
maintain/update case cause list and record is kept in a diary by court staff. Two main issues with
this process are; tedious work to maintain case scheduling data for all court cases and there is no
backup of data in case of disaster or fire.
Higher courts; High court and Supreme courts do provide a weekly cause list and it is
electronically available. However 90 percent of litigation is witnessed at the lower judiciary
(subordinate courts) and the rest at the level of high court and supreme court. Therefore lower
judiciary work under heavy workload. Lower judiciary also experiences a daunting challenge of
shortage of strength, court staff members, equipment and other budgetary constraints.
Court Funding
The Supreme Court and High Courts have recently been given a degree of financial autonomy.
This measure followed the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Government of Sindh v Sharaf
Faridi. The court held that the independence of judiciary also means the elimination of financial
control of the Executive over the judiciary, and therefore, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
and High Courts should be authorized to make re-appropriation of funds within the budgetary
allocation, without the approval of the Finance Ministry. The Court went on to elaborate that the
Chief Justices would thus be competent to re-appropriate amounts from one head to another and
may also create or abolish posts and upgrade or downgrade the same (Hussain, 2015).
With this financial autonomy, it is hoped that higher courts will provide financial means to their
subordinate courts in developing or implementing technology to address issues, which they face
due to manual processes.
Problem Statement
Let’s examine key problem areas first and see how our proposed system will address them to
bring improvements in our judicial process.
1- Currently no system tool (Calendar format) is available for court staff members to view
court case hearing dates by looking at the calendar’s future date or schedule of concerned
lawyers.
2- Court staff members have no ability to check future court case dates with the breakdown
of case proceeding status such as witness statement, witness cross-questioning, case
arguments, and case discussion. Court cases in which case arguments are heard usually
take less time compared to cases in which witnesses are on trial with cross-questioning
stages. Therefore, for any given day, there must be a threshold on the number of cases
which could be taken with specific case status.
3- There is no ability for court judges to see the schedule of a lawyer to verify their presence
in the court. Court cases, in which both parties are available, could be given preference to
proceed with the case proceedings.
4- There is no ability for court judges to notify lawyers and litigants in advance of their
absence due to emergency, strike or for other administrative reasons. This results in
frustration especially for people who come to courts from out of city.
5- There is no electronic data collection to determine the top reasons for delay in court case
proceedings.
6- There is no centralized information available on the experience of practicing lawyers
based on court data. This makes it difficult for litigants to hire a best lawyer to present
their case in court of law
We have summarized some of the top issues, which our judicial courts face due to the absence of
technological platforms. Considering the increased volume of court cases, it is becoming
imperative to address these issues now before it’s too late. Research data shows an alarming
situation which our judicial system is facing due to overburdening of court cases and in the
absence of an online case scheduling system.
Objectives
1- To collect and analyze data on the relevant topic in order to determine the scope and
feasibility of this project (court case management system).
2- To analyze existing court case management projects and to compare them with the
proposed system.
3- To collect and evaluate the feedback of users of the proposed system.
4- To provide cost estimates on the development of the proposed system.
5- To fill the gaps between actual findings of this project report and the proposed system.
Significance
Analysis of data from the literature review, online questionnaire and financial plan sections of
this report will help to evaluate the feasibility of this project. Therefore, there is a great
significance of this document in order to understand the scope of this project.
Furthermore, the significance of this report could be classified into general, academic and
practical fields and findings of this report would benefit aforementioned areas. Let us examine
the benefit of this report on the general, academic and practical areas in more detail.
General Significance
With an increase in the number of court cases, there is a need for judicial institutions to put in
place a management system to streamline court cases processing times in an efficient and
effective manner. This report has highlighted some of the problem areas and has provided an
online case management solution. Proposed case management solution could be successfully
implemented in the judicial process to reduce case process time, which in turn will benefit the
society in general and will help the government in providing justice to its citizens on time.
Academic Significance
Data collected in preparing this report through online questionnaires, study of literature from
existing sources and details of the proposed court management system will provide a base for
academic research in future. Within the academic area, analysis is done from both contextual and
theoretical point of view. Let’s examine both contextual and theoretical areas which contribute to
the overall academic area of research.
Contextual:
Online questionnaire was developed to collect the feedback of survey participants. Overall
results of online questionnaires are shared for future research purposes in order to determine the
behavioral pattern of survey participants. Findings of this survey will serve as the basis for future
contextual academic research.
Theoretical:
This report provides comprehensive details on the court cases processing and structure of judicial
courts in Pakistan, which will be easily available for academic researchers to propose.
Furthermore, this report provides information on the implementation of court case management
systems from a number of countries, which will serve as a basis for future theoretical research.
Literature review on the subject matter provides comprehensive details for future theoretical
research.
Practical Significance
The overall result of the online questionnaire suggests that the majority (more than 95%) of
survey participants relevant to judicial courts are in favour of a court case management system to
help them automate court case processes. Furthermore, they are in favour of a system which
helps them manage court case documents. Therefore, from the overall responses of survey
participants, we infer that there is a great significance of the online court case management
system within the judicial court in Pakistan.
Literature Review:
Judicial systems all over the world have started using technology to speed up the processing of
court cases. Judicial Courts in Malaysia, also adopted technology used to process court cases.
Video conferencing, community advocate portal systems, case recording and transcription
systems and electronic case filing systems are some of the common technologies which are
currently in use. The data collected on the processing of court cases and the testimony of judges
is proof of great improvement in terms of time saving (Hassan, 2011).
According to (Gibson, 2016), technology has helped Judges and Courts to use social media to
interact with the public as well as provided a platform to respond to evolving digital
communication platforms.
Countries around the world are conducting comprehensive studies to determine the results of
technology in judicial courts. The Council of Europe has carried out many surveys in this regard
and concluded that Technology is imperative to improve the quality of operations and to balance
the overwhelming workload of court cases. They have recommended many changes to help
judicial courts around the world to uplift the functioning of the judicial system (CEPEJ).
Document management system (DMS) is one component of court case management systems that
gives courts the ability to store court case documents in an electronic format without worrying
much about the physical location of court documents. To ensure all court documents are
converted into digital or electronic format, Courts would have to allocate resources and as a
result documents would be available for viewing or printing needs to concerned parties when
required. Online access to electronic copies of court documents could be provided so that its
easier to access them compared to hard copies of documents which could be stored at a different
location (Jr., 2013).
According to (Contini, 2001), To control cost and improve the methods of forecasting and
appraisal of performance, a sophisticated and more advanced level of court case management
system is needed.
In addition to improving processes within a court , online web services are another part of
technology that can greatly help court judges to exchange legal documents among courts
working at various levels in the national judicial system. Such initiatives could help enhance
access, transparency, efficiency, timeliness and accountability thereby helping the judicial
system to provide adequate services. Integration and automation of technology in the judicial
system could offer open and transparent access to general and specific information on the
judicial subject matters to the general public at large. Hence help common citizens to deal with
judicial issues which otherwise result in frustration to the public (Velicogna, 2007).
Judicial courts around the world use to manually process court cases. With the introduction of
technology, Court Management Systems started replacing the manual way of handling court
cases which in turn streamlined court processes and removed process inefficiencies from judicial
courts. Every CMS system comprises sub modules such as e-filing and e-registration.
Furthermore, most CMS systems include a queue management system which legally binds
counsel of both parties in a dispute to comply with the time limits. This ensures smooth
operation of court proceedings and avoids factors which contribute to delays in court
proceedings (Mokhtar K. H., 2011).
Technology transformation and process transformation are two different things and require
careful consideration when implemented at any enterprise level organization. Implementation of
both requires changes in the existing workflow of operations and incorporation of various
technologies such as video conferencing, electronic case management , electronic recording of
case related court documents and creation of a virtual environment for forensic investigation and
so on. Furthermore, implementation of technology also requires that roles of each individual are
defined to the granular level to avoid duplication of work. Malaysian courts witnessed a
significant improvement in all areas of court functioning after the implementation of
technological tools such as court information and records management, workflow management
and collaboration with other government agencies. This greatly helped Malaysian courts to
timely handle court cases even when there are large volumes of court cases pending before the
judicial system. (Saman & Haider, E-court: Information and communication technologies for
civil court management, 2013).
The journey of technology transformation in the judicial system is not just limited to digitization
but requires changes to regulations, policy changes and human capital aspects as well.
Furthermore, greater commitment is required in terms of planning and monitoring activities to
oversee operational efficiencies. (Ojo, 2009). It is not a simple effort to achieve a fully electronic
court operation - until there is a well-developed capacity to manage electronic court records as
legally verifiable evidence of entitlements, contractual obligations, policies, or transactions for as
long as they are legally required, mixed media (paper/electronic systems), will be essential
(Thurston, 2000).
The United States has taken a lead in transforming their judicial system with latest technological
changes. Most courts in the USA have implemented electronic filing of court cases and are now
leading the way for online exchange of court documents at various levels of the judicial system.
European courts are still working to implement online exchange of court documents in their
judicial courts. (Contini, 2001).
In the case of Pakistan, a committee (NJPMC) is formed with the objective to implement
technology in the judicial system. Furthermore, a number of other initiatives have been started to
address the issue of delays and backlogs. However these initiatives require seriousness and more
funding in order to ensure successful delivery of these technology initiatives. It is hoped that one
day the Pakistani judicial system will be able to use technology instead of using old manual ways
(Jafferi, 2010).
Latest technological changes has helped to drastically increase the storage capabilities which in
turn has allowed to keep record of court case proceedings in audio and even video formats. This
kind of technological advancement in the judicial system to record every single activity of court
proceedings has ensured transparency in all court cases and provided access to these records to
the media and to the public based on privacy laws (McMillan, 2007).
By January of 2009, E-court were implemented in all Malaysian courts with the expertise of two
main third party consulting firms. This technology transformational project for malaysian courts
began in mid of year 2003 by two third party consulting giants Solsis private limited and KPMG
Malaysia. Since it was huge undertaking which is why these two external firm were hired to
provide their professional services in the successful implementation of this project and it them
almost six years to successfully implement this project (Charmonman, 2016) .
In Indonesia, a number of initiatives were introduced in regards to technology implementation in
judicial courts. These initiatives were supported by the government and mandated by a number
of laws and amendments. As a result of these initiatives, judicial courts have been equipped with
technology and resulted in more simplified judicial processes to address long delays in the justice
system(Santiadi, 2019).
Practices of court cases are covered with the support and automation of the court case
management system. Its is important to ensure that all components of court cases are addressed
with the support of the court case management system. During the life cycle of court cases from
initiation till its disposal all mandatory requirements are covered.At least these seven subprocesses are part of any typical court case, which includes : (a) receive documents; (b)
administrative preparation; (c) content preparation; (d) court decision-making; (f) administrative
completion; (e) content elaboration; (g) send and archive (Rooze, 2010).
Most technologies developed around the world to handle court cases electronically consist of
four modules as follows:
1) Electronic Filing System (EFS), which allows online filing of court cases from legal firms and
submission of applications or summons.
2) Case Management System allows cases to be managed electronically, without physical files.
3) Queue Management System Queue Management System which allow the scheduling of daily
court transaction, and their automation; and
4) Court Recording and Transcribing to record the whole process of hearing before judges in the
open court, so that the whole court proceeding can be stored in audio video format for reference
and long term preservation (Charmonman, 2016).
Objective of electronically maintaining court cases is to provide paperless processing of court
cases from the time the case is filed until it;s disposal. With the use of electronic systems, data of
each court case is gathered seamlessly, passed on digitally and case histories are stored in one
place for every court case. Payments of court fees and other applicable taxes are handled online
and for the convenience of litigants (Saman, Success Factors for Justice Delivery System, 2016).
It is impossible to address all of the issues, which confronts judicial courts. However, at the same
time, technology provides solutions to the majority of the issues. It is a huge undertaking to
write policies and standards, which govern the use of those technologies, to ensure consistency
of systems used in all courts of the same jurisdictions. Within the judicial processes, if
implemented the right way, standardization will ensure the smooth running work process of
courts (Saman, Success Factors for Justice Delivery System, 2016).
Majority of court case management systems offer a wide array of modules such as electronic
court case filing, court case scheduling, electronic summoning, document repositories, and case
tracking system for the public. Furthermore, these systems offer the ability to electronically
gather data from government regulatory bodies to ensure accessibility of legal information to
court-relevant people such as judges and lawyers. In short, use of artificial intelligence (AI) and
digital ledger technologies are becoming a prevailing trend in the judicial case court proceedings.
Courses are offered to Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) students on the topic of artificial
intelligence, ethics, privacy and new technologies (Rajkumar, 2021).
The LIMBS system developed in India provides a Graphical interface for generation of friendly
reports and basic information about court cases, which allow the higher administration as well as
clerks to simultaneously monitor the progress of court cases. Higher administration is provided
with electronic alerts regarding special petitions, contempt cases and important cases.
Furthermore, concerned parties such as Counsels and officers are informed via electronic
notifications regarding forthcoming cases, which helps the administration to do due diligence on
their end to ensure that no case remains unnoticed. Document management features are also
provided in the LIMBS system. Furthermore, more than twenty thousand counsels have signed
up with the LIMBS system, which in turn facilitates the timely processing of advocate
bills.(Gupta, 2020).
Information technology is an effective tool for the efficient processing of court case processing
now and in the future. Technology provides many benefits in the area of record management,
case management, inter department communication and administrative support. Therefore
concerned parties must have awareness of benefits that technology offers in order for effective
planning. Access of judicial personnel and litigants to judicial data via automated systems is
essential to the court's existence (Courts, 2013).
Courts around the world have deployed court management systems from simple digitisation of
courts registries to more complex and sophisticated system design to assist or replace judicial
officers in the decision-making process.In the 21st Century, courts' effective operation is
dependent on the successful implementation of digitisation process. Simple technological uplift
such as electronic data availability may seem simple but could face many hurdles in successful
implementation due to hierarchical nature of courts, and the bureaucratic nature of large and
complex organisations. Therefore courts must wisely pick how best to deploy technology due to
limited resources (BELL, 2021).
Judiciary is a conservative institution and changes in its operations and procedures might affect
compliance to international laws and relationships to other countries. Innovative reforms
provided by technology must take into consideration the role the judiciary plays in protecting the
rights of country's citizens, public and private organizations and in upholding the rule of law.
Furthermore, a balance must be maintained among institutional conservatism and changes put
forward by technology. This balance must be in favour of justice (PECK, 2008).
In the case of Singapore, a number of technology reforms are taking place to equip the judiciary
to accept court documents for case filing, payments in electronic form and to store case related
documents in electronic format. At the subordinate courts most of court operations are automated
to ensure smooth functioning of court proceedings. Technologies such as Automated Traffic
Offence Management System (ATOMS) to electronically submit payment of fines, web based
electronic filing for the Small Claim Tribunal(SCT) and the Electronic Filing System (EFS) for
civil suits were introduced (Magnus, 2004).
In near future we envision a world, where access to justice would means that a potential litigant
can easily find legal information about her rights, apply for legal aid electronically, talk to a legal
aid attorney over her tablet computer, find and complete the forms she needs to file in a court
(Cabral, 2012).
In response to covid-19 pandemic, Judiciary moved its operations to online mode in order to
facilitate petitioners without delays in court proceedings. Majority of court cases were handled
with the support of video conferencing tools such as Webex and Zoom. More than 150K cases
were processed between August, 2020 and January 2021. Cases of all types were conducted with
the use of technology and it required tremendous effort of people from different programs.
Development of technology infrastructure, designing guidelines, conducting training programs,
and troubleshooting glitches are some of the challenges which lawyers, court staff and judges
faced to make this transition successful (Recktenwald, 2021).
Similar trend of virtual court hearing is witnessed in the Australian judicial system during covid19 pandemic. The Australian High court has adopted virtual hearing in court proceedings: the
case of Cumberland vs The Queen was the first to be heard completely electronically. Despite
many challenges, court judges, lawyers and court staff were able to transform the whole case
proceedings to the digital only platform with a rapid pace. A number of provisions have been
added to determine when it's desirable to have virtual hearnings. As a result of virtual court
hearing, courts are able to process court cases at a much shorter time (McIntyre, 2020).
Training and Support
People always show resistance to transformation and change. Most resistance to change and
transformation is due to lack of training and support programs and this is the area that is always
overlooked. Therefore it's one of the most important areas that requires focus and this area is the
one which could help make transition to a newer system seamless. Some projects include
training programs in the development and implementation phase of the project in order to access
the proposed system and to receive feedback from end users. There are two main advantages of
this strategy. It helps to bring into attention anything that might have been overlooked from the
end user's perspective. Furthermore, involvement of end users in the development of the system
reduces the need for training programs later (Burkell, 2013).
Risks and challenges
Transformation of the system brings many challenges and its success is not guaranteed with the
commitment and support of stakeholders and end system users. Generally these challenges are
classified in two broad categories; technical and system challenges. System challenges are from
end users who are used to working with traditional modes of operation either due to their change
averse nature or due to mistrust of technology. To overcome this issue better training programs
could be offered to end users so that they are more comfortable with the new transformation.
Technical challenges include weak infrastructure, hacking, cyber-attacks , availability of high
speed internet connection and high rate of illiteracy. Services of subject matter experts are
needed in this regard to address these technical challenges. Most online systems these days
incorporate security features to further strengthen digital systems (Hamid, 2020).
It is likely that digital transformation of our justice system will spawn a collateral support system
of resource centers, online legal aid help centers, etc., thus creating jobs and aiding the system at
the same time and, contributing to universal digital literacy, which must be adopted as a goal for
the future (Hamid, 2020).
Research Methodology:
Online Questionnaire
An online Google survey was developed and a link to the survey was sent to relevant people
(lawyers, judges, court staff and public at large) to determine their overall preferences and
expectations from the proposed system. Limited number of questions (10 questions) were
included in the survey to attract the maximum number of survey participants. Furthermore, this
approach helped us to get in touch with the relevant people easily.
Majority of survey participants were male between the age of 22 and 55 of which 41 percent of
participants were lawyers while 52 percent participants were classified under the “Others”
profession category.
Survey participants expressed their frustration at the existing manual scheduling of court cases
and highly recommended their willingness to try some type of online system for judicial courts.
A large number of survey participants wanted litigants to know the status of their court case.
However, participants with the profession category lawyer did not want their clients to directly
know the status of their court case.
Most participants with lawyer status wanted a proposed system to provide the ability to check
the status of their court cases from mobile applications. In addition to court case status,
participants also wanted proposed system to provide ability to upload court case related data
from mobile application.
Furthermore, survey participants were asked if they are willing to pay a monthly nominal
subscription fee for use of such service. All of the survey participants showed their willingness to
pay a monthly subscription fee for use of such an online system. Survey participants were asked
questions on the amount of subscription fee they are willing to pay and results are shown below.
Financial Plan
A comprehensive financial plan was developed to provide estimated financial figures. This will
help to determine the scope and cost estimates of this project. Sales projection, estimated
operating expenses, pro forma income and cash flow statements and balance sheet are developed
based on prepared assumptions to determine the estimated return on investment figures for
financial analysis.
This project will require six months to release the first version of the proposed system.
Marketing and sales team will start presentation work of the proposed system to the target
audience mentioned in the marketing plan. The table below shows projected sales figures for the
first five years.
Sales Projection:
Projected Sales
Dec. 2022
Rs. 8 M
Dec. 2023
Rs. 16 M
Dec. 2024
Rs. 32 M
Dec. 2025
Rs. 36 M
Dec. 2026
Rs. 40 M
Estimates above are based on the price tag value of 8 million for the complete solution installed at client
premises with one month of training program. Furthermore, we expect to have at least one client at the
end of first year and at least two clients at the end of two years to achieve our projected targets.
Estimates for initial project operating expenses are given below for the period of 5 years.
Estimated Operating Expenses:
Expenses
Salaries
Rent
Utilities
Advertising
Selling Exp.
Insurance
Payroll Taxes
Depreciation
Office Exp.
Total
Dec. 2022
6,000,000
1,200,000
250,000
Dec. 2023
6,500,000
1320,000
300,000
Dec. 2024
10,000,000
1,458,000
330,000
Dec. 2025
11,500,000
1,580,000
370,000
Dec. 2026
13,000,000
1,640,000
400,000
200,000
220,000
245,000
270,000
300,000
0
50,000
50,000
100,000
8,700,000
100,000
55,000
50,000
200,000
8,695,000
110,000
62,000
50,000
400,000
12,605,000
120,000
70,000
50,000
250,000
14,160,000
130,000
78000
50000
300,000
15,848,000
Salaries expenses are based on the team of 9 member project team as shown in the appendix 3.1 and a
percentage of salary increment is added each year. With the increase of client base by third year, we made
adjustments to salary in third year.
Rent expenses are based on a small office located in Islamabad and each year around ten percent rent
increment is adjusted. All other expenses are for the running of a small office.
The table below shows estimated income statement figures for the first years.
Pro Forma Income Statement:
Sales
Gross Profit
Operating Exp
Salaries
Rent
Utilities
Adv&Sales Exp
Depreciation
Office Exp
Payroll Taxes
Total Opt. Exp
Gross Profit
●
Jan
0
0
Feb
0
0
Mar
0
0
Apr
0
0
May
0
0
Jun
2000
2000
Jul
0
0
Aug
2000
2000
Sept
0
0
Oct
2000
2000
Nov
2000
2000
Dec
0
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(655)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(655)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(655)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(655)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(655)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
1345
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(655)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
1345
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(651)
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
1345
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
1345
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
655
(651)
Numbers above are shown in thousands ’000’
The table above shows the estimated breakdown of revenue and expenses for the first year and the last
column of the table shows the final estimated amount of all figures. It is expected that there will be a
small earning of around 140 thousand rupees at the end of first year.
Total
8000
6000
1200
252
204
50
108
50
7860
140
Let's examine the breakdown of estimated cash flow for the first year to help us further understand
financial figures.
Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement:
Receipts
Sales
Disbursements
Equipment Purc
Salaries
Rent
Utilities
Adv. & Sales
Exp.
Insurance
Office Expenses
Payroll Taxes
Total
Disbursements
Cash Flow
Begining Balance
Ending Balance
●
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
0
0
0
0
0
2000
0
2000
0
2000
2000
0
500
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
300
500
100
21
17
500
100
21
17
4.2
9
4.2
1152
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
650
4.2
9
4.2
950
4.2
9
4.2
655
(1152)
4000
2848
(650)
2848
2198
(650)
2198
1548
(650)
1548
898
(650)
898
248
1350
248
1648
(650)
1648
998
1350
998
2348
(650)
2348
1698
1350
1698
3198
1000
3048
4048
(655)
4048
3393
Numbers above are shown in thousands ’000’
The estimated numbers in the table above show the estimated cash flow figures where we start with an
opening balance of 4 million and expenses are deducted from it. Once a company starts making revenue
in the sixth month add this amount to cash flow figures and we again expect sales in the months of
August and November. We start with an opening balance of 4 million and expect our balance of around
3.4 million at the end of first year.
The table below shows the projected balance sheet of this project at the end of first year.
Balance Sheet
DillySolutions Pvt. Ltd. Dec. 31, 2022 Balance Sheet
Assets
Current Assets
Cash
3448
Account Receivables
0
Total Current Assets
3393
Fixed Assets
Office Equipment
Less Depreciation
Total Fixed Assets
Total Assets
Liabilities & Owners Equity
Current Liabilities
Account Payable
Total Liabilities
Owner’s Equity
Asif’s Invest
Retained Earnings
Total Owner’s Equity
Total Liability & Owners Equity
800
50
750
4143
0
0
4000
140
4140
4140
The table above shows the balance sheet of the company at the end of first year derived from income and
cash flow estimated figures. There is a retained earnings of 140 thousand at the end of first year.
Assumptions
Any financial plan is only as good as its input data and its assumptions. Based on a
comprehensive review, we charted your current financial starting position. We then developed
your long-term financial model based on three categories of assumptions, from sales projection
to operating expenses and return on investment. These assumptions are reasonable, and represent
financial planning standards, where applicable. Reviewing these assumptions thoroughly will
ensure that you understand the variable factors that shape your financial plan over the next four
plus decades.
Assumption 1: Sales Projection
We assume that the sales team will be able to sign the first contract in a one-year time and will
be able to have at least four to six clients within a time of three years. Clients will be charged 8
million for the installation of a complete management system at their premises.
Assumption 2: Operating Expenses
Operating expense figures are based on a small team (8 to 9 employees) structure as mentioned
in the Appendix 3.1 also there are one time expenses for furniture and office equipment. A
minimum of 5% inflation rate adjustment every year for expenses is included.
Assumption 3: Return on Investment
Based on the estimated sales and expense figures, we expect to have a return on our investment
within three years of time.
Result And Discussion
Online Questionnaire
Majority of survey participants were male between the age of 22 and 55 of which 41 percent of
participants were lawyers while 52 percent participants were classified under the “Others”
profession category.
Survey participants expressed their frustration at the existing manual scheduling of court cases
and highly recommended their willingness to get a try at some type of online system for judicial
courts. A large number of survey participants wanted litigants to know the status of their court
case. However, participants with the profession category lawyer did not want their clients to
directly know the status of their court case.
Most participants with lawyer status wanted a proposed system to provide the ability to check
the status of their court cases from mobile applications. In addition to court case status,
participants also wanted a proposed system to provide the ability to upload court case related
data from mobile applications.
Furthermore, survey participants were asked if they are willing to pay a monthly nominal
subscription fee for use of such service. All of the survey participants showed their willingness
to pay a monthly subscription fee for use of such an online system. Survey participants were
asked questions on the amount of subscription fee they are willing to pay and results are shown
below.
Financial Plan
With the given estimated financial statements, we expect this project to deliver return on
investment within three years of time. Based on given estimated sales figures, we expect
revenue to grow at an exponential rate once the sales team will start its work.
These estimates are based on the assumption that project development starts with a smaller
team of eight to nine employees and could be expanded later on in a time of three to five years
as needed. In the beginning, a flat team structure given in the appendix 3.1 would be
considered ideal for this project to keep the project cost under estimated financial figures.
Conclusion:
Based on the literature review and analysis of survey questionnaire data, this report finds that
there is a great demand for an online case management system at the judicial courts, which will
bring improvement in the judicial court case processing. Moreover, due to the large number of
pending court cases, there is a desire on the government and judicial level for technological
reforms within the judicial process.
Although study of literature does point out some resistance against technological
transformation in the judicial system from computer illiterate staff, this could be addressed
with training programs.
Therefore, I highly recommend this project for approval as data in this report suggest there is a
great demand for electronic case management systems for judicial courts.
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Appendix
Appendix 2.1
Appendix 3.1 Recommended Organogram of Company